THIS SPECIAL EVENT HAS ENDED. THE
BUTLER COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION ("BCARA") THANKS ALL AMATEUR
RADIO OPERATORS WHO WERE ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH US DURING THIS EVENT TO
COMMEMORATE AN AMATEUR RADIO MILESTONE ON FEBRUARY 22, 1916. DUE TO THE
RICH HISTORY OF AMATEUR RADIO IN HAMILTON, OH WE WILL
CONTINUE TO HAVE SIMILAR EVENTS.

THE BUTLER COUNTY AMATEUR
RADIO ASSOCIATION ("BCARA")

will be
conducting an amateur radio "special event" February 18-26, 2012
to commemorate a historic Washington's Birthday amateur radio message relay
which was conducted on February 22, 1916 by members of the American Radio Relay
League (ARRL); formed in 1914; and members of the Radio League of America
(1915-1921).

The special event will be
conducted from BCARA's club station W8WRK located in the original station
building of Special Land Station "8ZU" (1915-1919) which was one
of the twenty-seven primary receiving and sending stations used for the
February 22, 1916 radio message relay!

(Special Land Station 8ZU, at
329 N C Street, Hamilton, OH was operated by the Doron Brothers Electrical
Company. The Dorons operated amateur radio stations "D5"
(pre-1911), "8AJT" (1912-1915), Special Experimental Station
"8XAG" (1922-1925), and "WRK" (1922-1930) which was
the first broadcast radio station in the City of Hamilton and our
country's 57th licensed broadcast radio station.)

THIS EVENT IS
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND ALL AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS ("HAMS"). (See
"SPECIAL EVENT INFORMATION" lower on this page.)

Transmitting/Receiving Information

BCARA will be using its club call sign W8WRK
for the special event and will be operating
from 7 AM EST Saturday, February 18 to 7 PM EST Sunday,
February 26 on the following bands:
10 Meter at 28.410, 20 Meter at 14.245, 40 Meter at 7.220 7.052, 80 Meter at 3.838.
The operating time may be changed and, depending upon band conditions at
the time of event, there may be band and frequency changes.
For up-to-the-minute station status when
the event starts click here.

A
QSL “card” will be issued for contacts made during the special
event except for contacts made during the 24-hour period of February 22
for which an 8.5 inch X 11 inch QSL
“certificate” will be issued instead (see below).

During the 24-hour period of February 22 (Washington’s Birthday) we will
quote a George Washington related “special phrase” during our contact
with you and if you QSL us in writing with the phase we will issue the
special QSL “certificate”.Note for "SWL’s" (short-wave listeners): If you QSL us
in writing with the “special phrase” you hear, we will also issue you
the special “certificate”.

We will be issuing a
separate “Guest Operator” certificate of
contact for Boy Scouts or other youth groups who wish to
try amateur radio and get-on-the-air as a “third party” in accordance
with FCC “third part messaging” regulations.

For the Special Event W8WRK will be transmitting from the
original station building of the Doron's radio stations 8ZU (1915-1919) and WRK
(1922-1930) (photos right) using antennas suspended from WRK's original antenna
tower (photos left).
The old WRK antenna tower may be one the country's last standing original towers
from the 1920's era of broadcast radio!

1916 ARRL / RLA Washington's
Birthday amateur radio message relay

In
April 1914 amateur radio buffs formed the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and
byAugust 1914 it had more than 200 relay stations.In 1915 the Doron’s 8ZU became an ARRL relay station.

Although
limited to the 200-meter band, these regular amateurs, many of who were using
primitive and low-cost homemade equipment, were oftenout-performinggovernmentandbusinessstationsonlongdistancetransmissionandreception.The ARRL
persuaded the Department of Commerce to allow special operations on 425 meters
(706 kHz) for amateur relay work in remote areas.

In
October 1915 the Radio League of America (RLA) was formed and both organizations
began to jointly cooperate.To show
how effective, fast, and useful amateur stations could be in relaying messages
nationwide, a RLA-initiated February 22, 1916 Washington’s birthday radio
message relay across the United States was conducted.The Doron’s station 8ZU was one of twenty-seven pre-selected primary
receiving and sending stations that participated in the joint cooperation relay.

To avoid daytime
interference the relay was conducted at night.A written message from Colonel Nicholson of the U.S. Army’s Rock Island
Arsenal was hand delivered to special amateur station 9XE in Davenport, Iowa
one-half mile away.Oddly the army
arsenal did not have a wireless station!

From 9XE in Davenport, Iowa
the message was relayed east, west, north, and south, and was delivered to the
Atlantic coast in 60 minutes, the Pacific coast in 55 minutes, and the Canadian
and Mexican borders in 20 minutes.

The twenty-seven primary
stations that were used for the “long jumps” in distance plus eleven
additionalpre-selected“checkingstations”werepredominantlySpecialLandStations.The “checking stations” received and sent the message after the
primary stations had finished their transmissions.

Many other stations
participated as receiving stations only, and they were responsible to deliver
the message to local city and state governments.As the message was received by the various amateur stations it was
delivered to 37 Governors, 137 heads of cities (Mayors, Town Commissioners,
etc.) and the President of the United States.The 1916 message that was transmitted in the relay stated:

"Q.S.T.
Amateur Relay.A democracy requires
that a people who govern and educate themselves should be so armed and
disciplined that they can protect themselves.

(Signed)
Colonel Nicholson, U.S.A."

When the locations of the
primary relay stations that were known to have participated in the relay areplottedonamap,theDoron’sstation8ZUwasaboutmidpointinthesoutheasttransmissionroute.

1)
8YL in Lima, OH most likely received the transmission from 9PC in Fort Wayne,
IN, or 9YE in Chicago, or 9ZS in Springfield, IL and relayed it south to the
Doron’s station 8ZU.

2)
The Doron’s 8ZU in Hamilton; after receiving the message from either 8YL in
Lima or 9ZS in Springfield, IL; most likely relayed the message east to John
Stroebel’s 8ZW in Wheeling, WV.

3)
Station 3DS in Washington, DC licensed to W.A. Parks received the message
directly from John Stroebel’s 8ZW in Wheeling, WV and at 2:00 AM Mr. Parks
mounted his motorcycle and hand delivered the message to President Woodrow
Wilson’s bodyguard at the White House.

Hence,
it would be reasonable to conclude that the Doron’s Special Land Station 8ZU
played a part in getting a very historic early wireless radio relay message to
the President of the United States.

The complete story of
the February 22, 1916 message relay as published in the ARRL's April 1916 QST
Magazine is available here
and here.

The complete story of
the February 22, 1916 message relay as published in the Radio League of America Electrical
Experimenter Magazine is available here.

For
persons who are interested in amateur radio operations, antique radio's from the
1920's, or the Doron's 1889 Victorian house with antiques and its original woodwork
BCARA's amateur radio special event will be open to the
public Saturday and Sunday, February 18 and 19 from noon until 6 PM and the following weekend Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26
from noon until 6 PM weather
permitting(call 513-894-0910 or
513-236-9402 if there is snow or ice). The gathering area will be
inside the Doron house (enter from the side porch up the driveway).

There
will be antique radios from the 1920's on display, we will have an amateur radio
information table, and you can ask club
members questions about amateur radio. If you would like to go into the 1915 station
building of amateur station 8ZU and broadcast station WRK located in the
backyard please observe a "quiet zone" while on-the-air operations
are in progress. We also intend to operate a second transmitter in the
dining room where the Doron's broadcasted music from a phonograph. If you
are just interested in Victorian homes and antiques simply relax in the parlor,
living room, or dining room and tour the house. Soft drinks and
snacks will be provided in the kitchen.

Note
for leaders of youth groups such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: If any of
your group (e.g. scouts) would like to try amateur radio and get-on-the-air
to talk to an amateur radio "Ham" during the two weekends when the
event is open to the public, FCC regulations allow such "third part
communication" in the direct presence and supervision of one of our licensed
amateur radio operators. We will also print a "Guest Operator" certificate
of contact similar to what licensed amateur radio operators around the world
send each other to confirm contact. If you would like a special
arrangement for your group to visit during a weekday of the event, call
513-894-0910 or 513-236-9402 to make sure we have an operator available.

The Doron house is a rare Victorian shingle-style house listed on the
Ohio Historic Inventory that was built in 1889 by Joseph Doron who built
several very prominent buildings in Hamilton including the Dorona
Apartments and Verona Apartments both on High Street and both on the
Ohio Historic Inventory.

Directions:
From I-75 go west on route 129 into downtown Hamilton (High Street) and
cross the bridge over the Great Miami river. When crossing the
bridge stay to the right and the lane will curve onto Park Ave. Go
one block on Park. Ave. then turn right on North C Street.
329 North C Street is two blocks up the hill opposite a wooded area.

Parking:
There is street parking on only one side of North C Street at the top of
the hill.

Contacts for information (you
will need JavaScript turned on to view any e-mail addresses below):